Scott,
Thanks for the input on the Beam Machine. When I said I wanted to cut some 36" or so long beams from oaks and maples, you said: :"Why don't you just get your friendly neighborhood sawyer to cut your wood for you? It shouldn't cost anymore than 30 cents/boardfoot"
First, I have already suggested you move your operation to Ontario -quite a few trees here for you. As a woodworking hobbyist; both turning and furniture, what I have in mind is sort of a multi-use approach to the trees I fell around here. They grow(thankfully) too dense for their own good. I like to practice good woodlot management and choose trees to take out that will help others etc. What I would like to do would not warrant the trip for a Woodmizer or Norwood practitioner. These are all one-ofs and on my relatively spread-out timetable.
The plan for each tree is to take a portion to produce bowl blanks, a portion to produce a few beams - roughly 6" x 8" x 36" to resaw for small furniture projects, and then use the majority for firewood - I heat mostly with wood.
The thought of putting a few pieces away each time, not only for bowls, but for furniture projects has great appeal to me. Now in the case of the little table (below), I haven't cut anything long enough to mill up for the legs. It would be very helpful(read safer) to be able to resaw on the bandsaw from a nice square beam.
Pics are somewhat of an example, all from the same wormy oak I cut down Aug 04:
pic 1. - some of the turnings
pic 2. - furniture project in mind - I think this will suit wormy 1/4sawn wormy oak well
pic3. resawed from bandsaw
pic 4. grain
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